For a while, at least, Cardiff have lifted themselves into 19th in the table.

It is well short of where they expected to be and indeed where this squad should be, but if the Bluebirds can match the endeavour, organisation and steel they showed against an excellent Bristol City outfit, they won't be troubling the bottom reaches of the division for very long.

The football was not of the champagne variety but the heart on show was utterly compelling, the basic requirements of commitment met and surpassed by a team clearly buoyed by Warnock's arrival.

The man himself was on typically lively form, orchestrating his team from the touchline and getting involved in more than one trademark scrap with the fourth official. Credit must go to him and Lee Johnson, involved in a number of testy exchanges in the past, who were feisty but respectful and send out their teams to play in a ferocious and highly entertaining manner. The quality may not have been there, but the thrill factor certainly was.

For Cardiff, it was a performance world's apart from what was frankly a meek surrender in the driving rain at Burton Albion.

So what changed?

Here, we take a closer look at some of the things we learned...

And it's Cardiff City....

The boost in attendance was much welcome. The extra bums on seats made for a refreshing sight as the Cardiff City Stadium was once again a sea of blue scarves and tops.

What really mattered, however, was that this was a proper, old-fashioned, footballing atmosphere.

There was nothing synthetic or enforced about it, it was merely a fevered crowd responding to a blood and thunder game unfolding in front of them.

There were times when the atmosphere dipped but that is only natural. In the closing minutes, as the Bluebirds threw themselves at every shot, cross and pass coming towards them, the crowd noise reached a crescendo with songs not heard loud or proud this season ringing in the ears.

Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock gets a big ovation as he enters the dug-out for the first time

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You could almost feel the throbbing veins, the increase in heart-rate and the growing sense of a club alive and kicking again.

It won't always be this good, but what a way to start.

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Back to the future...

The most notable difference in Cardiff City's approach during the opening minutes was their high and frenetic pressing, with the likes of Joe Ralls tearing upfield to try and put Bristol City under pressure.

It quickly got the crowd on side but proved to be a little misleading.

Cardiff's approach ended up being far less proactive, far more pragmatic, sitting deep and soaking up the pressure.

This was a simple but very clear gameplan.

Two banks of four, disciplined, hard-working and showing supreme levels of concentration.

Warnock's best trick was one that he had used at Rotherham to upset the likes of Sheffield Wednesday. In between those two banks was a defensive midfielder, blocking and cutting out Bristol City's attempts to pass their way through the lines.

Tempers flare between Cardiff City and Bristol City

The Robins main threat came when Cardiff were pulled out of position early on, allowing Jamie Paterson and Lee Tomlin the opportunity to run at the defence. Once Cardiff went ahead, they didn't get that opportunity very much.

Going forward, the first move was to go long to Rickie Lambert; hoping that he could use his strength and nous to bring onrushing players into play.

As Warnock himself conceded, this squad is never likely to be free scoring. The progressive ideals from the start of the season have quickly been abandoned, with next to no sideways passes in defence or midfield.

There will be no complaints for the time being; it's a platform to build on.

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Last men standing...

Friday night's half-time entertainment was bizarre but also fairly appropriate.

Seven or eight lads in zorb balls running straight into each other for no other reason than to see who could stay on their feet.

In fairness, the game itself felt a bit like that at times, with winning the second ball and aerial duels quickly taking on a greater importance than winning hearts and minds with play of technical quality.

In almost every individual duel, Cardiff came out on top. Bristol enjoyed plenty of ball but at times were bullied.

Warnock's assistant, Kevin Blackwell, spent 10 minutes during the warm-up deep in conversation with the back four, and the message clearly got through.

Sol Bamba gets stuck in on his Cardiff City debut

Lee Peltier was like a man possessed, pushing Luke Freeman and Joe Bryan further and further up the pitch.

Tammy Abraham, meanwhile, having struggled with illness during the week, was absolutely no match for Sol Bamba and Sean Morrison.

When he was hooked for an out and out target man in Aaron Wilbraham, it was recognition from Lee Johnson that his 'posey' (his own words) side had walked into Warnock's trap and been found wanting.

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Huh!

Aron Gunnarsson was always likely to be a prime target for transfer window silly season speculation, and so it proved as he was linked with clubs far and wide.

Such talk was inevitable, with such a clear disparity between the leader and warrior on show for Iceland in the Euros and the player who wasn't even a regular for Russell Slade last season.

With performances like this, Warnock will not be able to leave him out on too many occasions.

He has played that half-back role in front of the defence once before this season, in the tepid defeat to Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup. That night, charged with being his team's primary creator and distributor of the ball, he floundered.

Aron Gunnarsson's performance was reminiscent of his Iceland exploits

Here, charged with playing the kind of high-octane, physical, disciplined game he clearly relishes, he was nothing short of magnificent.

Recognising how effectively he was shutting them down, Bristol City kicked him from pillar to post.

Gunnarsson stood tall.

Warnock wants blood and thunder. Little surprise that the man who brought the thunderclap to Europe was the first to put up his hand.

They had more variety and options than they have done at any time this season.

The likes of Junior Hoilett have given Warnock a huge amount of options

From the class of Bruno Manga, to the pace of Kadeem Harris, the guile of Anthony Pilkington and the aerial threat of Marouane Chamakh.

That's not even mentioning the ultra-versatile Kieran Richardson and the hard running Lex Immers.

Warnock now has the options to adapt his side to almost any game situation.

It's hard not feel a pang of sympathy for Paul Trollope in that regard, who never had that kind of choice.

That, however, is what the aura and reputation of Neil Warnock brings. These players have come to play for him. All Cardiff fans will feel they are going to reap the benefits from now until the season's end.